FORTE (Formal Techniques for Networked and Distributed Systems) 2005 was sponsored by Working Group 6.1, Technical Committee 6 (TC6) of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). The conference series started in 1981 under the name PSTV (Protocol Specification, Testing, and Verification). In 1988, a second series under the name FORTE was started. Both series merged to FORTE/PSTV in 1996. The conference name was changed to FORTE in 2001. During its 24-year history, many important contributions have been reported in the conference series. The last five meetings of FORTE were held in Pisa (Italy), Cheju Island (Korea), Houston (USA), Berlin (Germany), and Madrid (Spain).

Performed by various soloists with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ryusuke Numajiri. Recorded both in analog and digital versions in the Japanese double-CD release. "Twill by Twilight" is a harmonically and timbrally lush work, which often evokes the tone painting breadth of Debussy and the crystalline delicacy of Webern, an outpouring of "pastel coloring…reminders of the transient nature of twilight, before the coming night and after the sunset" (Takemitsu). It is dedicated to "the memory of my dear friend Morton Feldman." Takemitsu described the work's sub-structure as developed "through strictly measured musical units, through what might be called musical principles before a melody is constituted or before a rhythm is formed." This is a very apt metaphor applicable to Morton Feldman's own compositional style. The small and broad cyclicism of the rhythm patterns in Takemitsu's work is however much more hidden – a kind of phased, elastic, non-clockwork repetition with imaginative variations.

Metropolitan Suite is a wonderful work from synthesist Larry Fast, who uses his keyboards to create two sets of musical vistas - one that calls, simply, musical abstractions; the other is the title composition, a piece that gives musical sketches of New York at different periods in its history. Fast has a cinematic flair that results in some extremely dramatic writing - music for the cinema of the mind.

Performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Yuzo Toyama with soprano Rie Hamada. A beautiful digital recording of several rarely performed works by Takemitsu (the soprano part of the marvelous "Coral Island" is very difficult, for example, and the "Archipelago S" is for an unusual ensemble of instruments). Many of the subtleties of Takemitsu's writing are lost in recording (for example, subtle harmonics behind more foreground material), but the engineers made a good effort here.